Iris walked across the plains toward Mortis' den, smiling softly to herself. It had become part of her routine to come seek him out to help with her training or see if there was anything she could do to help out once she had tended to all of Zee's needs and her mistress had gone about her day. She never left Zee's den for more than a few hours at a time, always checking in to see if she was needed, but she enjoyed spending time with her friend as well and it helped keep her day more interesting.

As she got closer to Mortis' den she caught the scent of someone she hadn't come across before and her ears perked curiously. She was vaguely familiar with his sister and Hikaru so she knew their scents pretty well even though she hadn't interacted with them more than a passing greeting. She spotted the darker woman that was marked with fiery colors outside of the den and she watched her curiously as she drew closer. "Excuse me," she said in her usual soft tones, dipping her head to the other woman. "I was looking for Mortis. Is he around?"

"Iris"

Briar had left in the morning to go to her training in the Sea’s Plain. Unsure what else she should be doing to fill her days, Lia sweeped out the den and shook out the coats that Briar used for sleeping. Finding all the general household tasks that could help wile away a day.

She looked up in surprise at the coat she was currently beating gently, and looked into the rosey eyes of a stranger. The other wolf was smaller than her, which seemed to be a novelty in these pack lands. Assuming essentially everyone she met was of higher rank than her, Adalia dipped her head in a bow. “I apologise My Lady, I believe The Prince Heir went to run patrols this morning. Would you like me to give him a message?”

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Iris was taken aback by the greeting she was given by the woman that was currently cleaning a pelt, blinking as she bowed to her and spoke to her as if she was one of the leaders of the pack. She had never been called "my lady" a day in her life and something about hearing Mortis being called "the prince heir" struck her as funny even though she knew it was correct. It took her a moment to realize, but eventually she caught on to the fact that she was addressing her the way that she had spoken to everyone in her first days in the pack. Sirius was always "sir" or "master" and Zee was always "ma'am". Even Mortis had been "sir" before all of them corrected her in some shape or form to have her call them less formal titles.

She chuckled softly, giving the other girl a smile at the misunderstanding. "I'm sorry, I... I think there's a bit of confusion. I'm miss Zee's handmaiden - you don't need to speak so formally with me." Her head tipped slightly with curiosity as she assessed the larger woman, completely derailed and distracted from trying to find Mortis. "Are you a slave as well?" She was fairly certain that she had been the only slave when Sirius brought her here, but she did know that the Warlord had been gone for a couple of days recently so perhaps he bought another while he was gone? She seemed to be in much better shape than she herself had been in when she first arrived so she had clearly been better cared for by her former masters if nothing else.

"Iris"

Glancing subtly up from the corner of her eyes to see why there was a strange delay in the Lady, she found surprise in the rose-eyed stranger. Watching one's Master from a bowed position was something of an art form. A necessary act to gouge what was coming your way.

Idalia straightened in surprise at Iris’s words. The beautiful flower wolf was a handmaiden, making her of the same ranking as Iris herself. Or was she higher, because she served the Queen? Those small nuances could make a big difference in how slaves treated each other. Still being cautious, Lia offered her a smile. “I am, Miss” she agreed. “Idalia - handmaiden to Briar” she explained. “Have you found the leaders here to have strange, peculiar ideas on things?’ hopefully she didn’t get smacked for speaking out about their Masters, but Idalia was curious. So far every wolf she had run into in the Armada was so kind to her, despite the fact she was barely a person.

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Iris returned the other woman's smile as she seemed to relax at least a bit once she heard that she was also a servant. Her brows lifted with surprise as Idalia explained that she was Briar's handmaiden and was curious as to how the young woman had acquired a handmaiden for herself, but she didn't ask just yet. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Idalia. I'm Iris," she said in response instead. She supposed it didn't really matter how Mortis' sister received a servant. She was the daughter of the Queen and Warlord after all and from what she had heard was in a relationship with Artorias who was set to take over one of the other packs so she would be Queen herself one day. There was quite a lot of information to be had if one was quiet and listened well.

She couldn't help but grin and chuckle when Idalia questioned her about their leaders, knowing immediately what she meant when she called him strange and peculiar in their ideas on certain things. Clearly Idalia had been brought up in a similar situation as herself where their masters were not nearly as kind or considerate to their property as the wolves here were and that change of pace certainly came with a bit of whiplash. "Yes, they certainly are an interesting bunch," she agreed. "It does take some getting used to, but you really can trust them it seems. I've been here for a little while now and none of them have so much as raised their voice at me. It's quite an interesting thing."

"Iris"

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Iris” she responded. If they were going to be working together, it seemed promising that they would get along so nicely. Iris was also a dainty, pretty wolf. Despite this, it seemed she had also found something of a safe harbor here in the Armada. Of course, this wasn’t the last stop for Lia, who was waiting for her chance to see the Hallows Castle. But she would be here for a while, and strangely enough, it seemed she would be safe.

She shook her head in bewilderment when Iris spoke. “I didn’t think nobility could work.when you got right down to it, a wolf that didn’t have to quiet their inner desires - didn’t. There's no… ulterior motive, that you’ve found?” she wanted to know exactly what she was getting into.


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